As part of the US Community Division’s Rabbinic Internship Programme, 7 Rabbinic couples were given the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of life as a United Synagogue Rabbinic couple over the Yamim Noraim (High Holy Days). The couples were selected from Yeshivot in Israel and America.
The 10 day programme saw the Rabbinic couples spending the High Holy Days in a number of United Synagogue communities, including Bushey, Cockfosters and Woodside Park, where they helped to lead services, deliver explanatory services and participate in “Question and Answer” sessions.
The Rabbinic couples also had the opportunity to meet the Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, as well as key leaders of the United Synagogue including the US Trustees, the Dayanim of the London Beth Din and the Chief Executive Steven Wilson, thus enabling them to gain a thorough understanding of The US and its key position within the Jewish community in the UK.
The course also provided insights into the various departments and programmes of the United Synagogue including visiting the US burial grounds at Bushey as well as a visit to JFS, a US foundation school.
Speaking about the Internship, Rabbi Moshe and Hudi Niehaus, who spent the High Holy Days in Barnet US, said: “Through this fantastic programme we gained an essential insight into the work of Rabbinic couples. We were fortunate to hear from Rabbis and Rebbetzens about the challenges and the rewards of their roles, as well as learning about the great responsibility of working with a community. We were also impressed with the high level of professionalism that exists throughout the United Synagogue and we hope to work closely with them in the future.”
Community Services Director, David Kaplan, commented: “Over the last few years, this Rabbinic Intern Programme has been instrumental in ensuring our communities continue to have excellent and talented additional rabbinic assistance over a key part of the Jewish year. Since the intern programme began over a dozen interns have or are still working within theUS family. This programme is one of our key strategic platforms to try and ensure we are able to provide a high calibre and diverse rabbinate for our US communities for many years to come”.